US President Donald Trump said that Beijing has agreed not to supply weapons to Iran, vowing to permanently reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - And the World. This situation will never happen again,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said that China has "agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” adding that “President Xi (Jinping) will give me a big, fat, hug when I get there in a few weeks.”
His remarks came as Trump is set to travel to Beijing from May 14-15 for a meeting with President Xi Jinping, marking the US president’s first visit to China in his second term.
“We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting? But remember, we are very good at fighting, if we have to - far better than anyone else,” he said.
Deal hinges on nuclear issue
Trump also said that there will be no peace deal if Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons but added that the war “can be over very soon.”
“They cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Fox Business in an interview. “If they don’t, we’re not making a deal.”
“This whole thing about it was, is really about no nuclear, they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding that Iran has been “hit very hard.”
“We could take out every one of their bridges in one hour. We could take out every one of their power plants, electric power plants, in one hour. We don't want to do that,” he said, adding: “We'll see what happens.”
Repeating his claim that Iran posed a threat, he said Tehran was “going over to take over the Middle East, and we stopped them,” saying that it would have a nuclear weapon and “would have used it.”
He added that “I think they want to make a deal very badly.”
Ceasefire still holding
Talks were held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad over the weekend to permanently end the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28, but no agreement was reached. Efforts to hold another round of talks are underway.
Pakistan, on April 8, brokered a two-week ceasefire, which is still holding.
The US president said that in the war against Iran, “We've had no help… zero from NATO. We're there for them. They're not there for us.”
“What it means if they're not there for us here, they're not going to be going to be there for us. So why are we? Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year on NATO if they're not going to be with us?”
Trump said the US does not have the "same relationship" with anyone and that they have "turned us down for helping with this Iran situation."
